Irish dirt a big seller in the United States - Dublin company cleans up with Ireland’s muck

The Auld Sod Exporting Company products - get your Irish soil to take homeThe Auld Sod Exporting Company

A small company in Dublin is making a lot of money selling Irish dirt.

The Auld Sod Exporting Company started selling bags of Irish soil to "nostalgic" Americans years ago, reports the Irish Independent. Their customers tend to be people who wish to buried on Irish soil.

Pat Burke, from Tipperary, had the idea when he attended a funeral in America five years ago.

"Pat Burke was regularly asked by a family friend to bring a piece of the auld sod over to America for him to sprinkle on the caskets of recently departed loved ones; which is quite a tradition in the States," managing director John Beckett told the Independent.

Funeral directors soon began placing regular orders for bags of the Irish dirt as part of their services.

Because the US Department of Agriculture was concerned of foreign soil microbes being imported into the US, the company had to sanitize the soil before they could be granted an importation license.

"We have a specially patented process for cleansing the soil and we are now the only people in the world who can export Irish soil to the USA. The soil, which is sourced in Tipperary, is dark brown, feels really nice and smells beautiful," said Beckett.

The soil is also sometimes bought to be used for sprinkling on the foundations or a new house or even to be thrown as wedding confetti.

One pound of the Irish dirt, which comes in a presentation canister, sells for $15.